The absolute worst thing you will learn when playing against the computer is only 4 letters long and usually has its own button. It’s called the undo button. This single button keeps you from looking as deeply at a position as you should because you have the feeling of “oh I missed that I’ll just back it up a step and try it a different way.” When you get to playing real games, those mistakes will simply go punished.
Another bad habit to keep yourself out of is becoming emotionally invested in a game. Sure you can enjoy the game, but when you start becoming frustrated from losing instead of enjoying the learning experience you just set a roadblock in your own way. When you start playing, expect to lose a lot or all of your first games. Just make sure you learn something from each one. Try out new things. Find out why people don’t play certain ways by playing it out yourself. When you lose, play another game and remember, without that other player you’d still be staring at an empty board.
–John
